It was a long and winding road filled with doubt and puke and cheers and exhilaration and – oh my gosh – I FINISHED!

And for every single Sharpie-drawn poster, divinely drawn Children’s smile, and beer-fueled college-kid yahoo, I say, simply, thank you. Because, really, there are no words that have been invented yet to describe my bottomless gratitude for a teammate who would not let me run alone, a patient partner whose personal fortitude carried me over Heartbreak Hill and beyond, a sister that I literally leaned on for the last 6 miles, and family and friends from all over the country that never let me forget that I could do it.

And I did. Yea, me! Yea, Jayla! Yea, Miles for Miracles. Long live Marathon Monday.